Reactions to social vs self-evaluation: Moderating effects of personal and social identity orientations

People differ in the degree to which their identities are based on personal versus social identity characteristics. This experiment tested the hypothesis that people are most concerned about evaluations that are relevant to their salient identity orientation. The Aspects of Identity Questionnaire was used to classify subjects as low or high in personal and social identities. Subjects then anticipated taking a test, believing that their performance would be known by only them, by only a research assistant, by both them and a research assistant, or by no one. Subjects then completed thought-listing and self-report measures of evaluation apprehension. Subjects who scored high in social identity reacted more strongly to the social evaluation than subjects low in social identity. Although subjects high in personal identity were not particularly threatened by private feedback, personal identity seemed to buffer subjects against the threat of social-evaluation. The results are discussed in the context of recent work on private and public aspects of the self.     

Improving instruction for adults with developmental disabilities: Evaluation of a staff training package

Improvements in adaptive behavior among adults with developmental disabilities often depends on the quality of instruction delivered by direct-care staff. The present study evaluated the effectiveness of a multifaceted package for improving the quality of instructional interactions among three staff/adult dyads. Instructional interactions were first analyzed to identify areas for improvement. A multifaceted intervention package consisting of inservice training, participative management, and on-going feedback was then implemented in a multiple-baseline design across dyads. The package trained staff to increase their use of time delay and reinforcement strategies and these changes were associated with greater independence in a sandwich making task among two of the three participating adults. The results suggest direct observation of existing instructional interactions may provide valuable information when training staff to implement effective habilitative programs for adults with developmental disabilities.     

Joint consistency of nonparametric item characteristic curve and ability estimation

The simultaneous and nonparametric estimation of latent abilities and item characteristic curves is considered. The asymptotic properties of ordinal ability estimation and kernel smoothed nonparametric item characteristic curve estimation are investigated under very general assumptions on the underlying item response theory model as both the test length and the sample size increase. A large deviation probability inequality is stated for ordinal ability estimation. The mean squared error of kernel smoothed item characteristic curve estimates is studied and a strong consistency result is obtained showing that the worst case error in the item characteristic curve estimates over all items and ability levels converges to zero with probability equal to one.     

WHISTLING IN THE DARK:

Abstract— Terror management theory posits that cultural worldviews function to provide protection against anxiety concerning human vulnerability and mortality and that their effectiveness as buffers against such anxiety is maintained through a process of consensual validation. Two field experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that incidental reminders of one's mortality increase the need to believe that others share one's worldview. In both studies, passersby on city streets were asked to estimate the extent of social consensus for culturally relevant attitudes, 100 m before passing a funeral home, 100 m after passing a funeral home, or directly in front of a funeral home. In the first study, conducted in Germany, subjects were asked to estimate the percentage of Germans who shared their opinions about a proposal to change the German constitution to restrict the immigration of foreigners, in the second study, conducted in the United Stales, subjects were asked to estimate the percentage of Americans who shared their opinions about the teaching of Christian values in the public schools. In both studies, subjects who held the minority position on the issue estimated greater consensus for their opinions when interviewed directly in front of a funeral home than when interviewed either before or after passing it.     

Microcomputerized clinical and research laboratories in psychiatric inpatient,settings

Microcomputers have become increasingly useful in clinical settings, performing functions ranging from test administration to composition of narrative reports. They may in the near future be involved in therapeutic procedures. Clinicians and researchers have begun to wonder whether a microcomputer can take over a wide range of functions in clinical psychiatric settings, becoming a versatile and cost-effective tool. This paper describes the development of a comprehensive system for research and clinical data management on a psychiatric inpatient unit. The core of the system is an Apple II-Plus microcomputer equipped with PASCAL, standard peripherals, and an inexpensive custom interface. The system has met the current data management needs of the unit, and its expandability allows planning of assessment-and treatment-related research.     

Observational studies of retarded children with multiple stereotyped movements

Stereotyped movements, such as body rocking and hand gesturing, are common among developmentally delayed children. However, very little is known concerning the naturally occurring circumstances that produce variability in this type of responding. Three relatively long-term observational studies, involving seven preschool children, each of whom exhibited multiple stereotypies, were conducted to determine the extent to which the type of activity or setting had any effect upon the rates of these responses. Repeated observations were made of each child during a variety of school activities. In two studies, adult-child interactions were also recorded. The results showed that, in general, the particular activity greatly affected rates of stereotyped behavior, although there were some marked individual differences. Moreover, in two studies variability was apparent across sessions within a particular setting. For some of the children, there was evidence that their multiple stereotypies were functionally interrelated. Adult interactions, as recorded in one study, appear to be both quantitatively and qualitatively different for stereotyping as contrasted with nonstereotyping children. An environmental analysis employing a sequential model indicated that there were teacher behaviors that affected the frequency and/or conditional probability of the child's aberrant behavior.This research was supported by P.H.S. Grant No. HD-00973.     

A note on the gross configurations of the human auditory cortex

Gross inspection of 30 human brains (60 hemispheres) from patients without hearing impairment revealed the following configurations of gyri: one on left and two on right (14 of 30); two on left and two on right (11 of 30); one on left and one on right (3 of 30); two on left and one on right (1 of 30); and two on left and three on right (1 of 30). The last group has since been extended to include all combinations other than the first four and the proportions of these combinations appear to persist in larger tallies. Thirteen of the 30 brains displayed double gyri on the left while 25 had double gyri on the right. Seventeen of the 30 brains possessed a single gyrus on the left and four specimens had a single gyrus on the right. In general, the left side has a tendency to fewer gyral markings. The average cortical surface area on the left is 1198 mm² compared to 1380 on the right.     

The brachium of the inferior colliculus: The human auditory pathways: A quantitative study

Counts of nerve fibers in the brachium of the inferior colliculus in man from birth to 97 years (28 brains) revealed an average on the right of 168,311/mm² and an average of 168,593/mm² on the left. The total fiber population for each level studied averaged 350,562 for section A (immediately adjacent to the inferior colliculus), 452, 372 for section B (center of brachium), and 559,242 for section C (immediately adjacent to the medial geniculate body). These figures were averaged from brains whose ages ranged from 11 to 89 years. The area of the brachium, as well as its total fiber population, increased as the medial geniculate body was approached. This indicates that fibers were entering the brachium at various points along its course from the inferior colliculus to the medial geniculate body or were leaving in the reverse direction. A lower fiber density was found in infant brains, and a loss of nerve fibers was evident in the 91- and the 97-year-old specimens.